Informalisation As A Strength Community Survival Systems And Economic Development In The African City

Author : Frank Meintjies
Publisher : Universal-Publishers
Page : 76 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2008-03-27
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9781599426648

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Informalisation as a Strength: Community Survival Systems and Economic Development in the African City by Frank Meintjies Pdf

This dissertation is concerned with resources for economic development in cities in Africa. It argues for the greater understanding of the dynamics, practices and cultures within popular neighbourhoods and for recognising the creativity within them as a critical resource. Such an appeal is apt in a context where informal initiative has been suppressed, neglected and its potential wider influence curtailed. This paper takes the view that the popular neighbourhood is not just a place of needs, nor are its resources important only for addressing its own pressing issues; rather, it can be a major contributor to economic development in cities of Africa. This argument draws on concepts and findings from two research initiatives on a Lusaka settlement which delved into community resourcefulness, during a time of consolidation and at a time of serious economic stress. The main proposition is that economic strategy formulation in African cities needs to be based on a good grasp of the constraints and creativity of popular neighbourhoods and the survival strategies they spawn.

Author : Mary Njeri Kinyanjui
Publisher : Zed Books Ltd.
Page : 205 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2014-06-12
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781780326337

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Women and the Informal Economy in Urban Africa by Mary Njeri Kinyanjui Pdf

In this highly original work, Mary Njeri Kinyanjui explores the trajectory of women's movement from the margins of urbanization into the centres of business activities in Nairobi and its accompanying implications for urban planning. While women in much of Africa have struggled to gain urban citizenship and continue to be weighed down by poor education, low income and confinement to domestic responsibilities due to patriarchic norms, a new form of urban dynamism - partly informed by the informal economy - is now enabling them to manage poverty, create jobs and link to the circuits of capital and labour. Relying on social ties, reciprocity, sharing and collaboration, women's informal 'solidarity entrepreneurialism' is taking them away from the margins of business activity and catapulting them into the centre. Bringing together key issues of gender, economic informality and urban planning in Africa, Kinyanjui demonstrates that women have become a critical factor in the making of a postcolonial city.

Author : Ilda Lindell
Publisher : Zed Books Ltd.
Page : 202 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2013-04-04
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781848138339

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Africa's Informal Workers by Ilda Lindell Pdf

Africa's Informal Workers is a vigorous examination of the informalization and casualization of work, which is changing livelihoods in Africa and beyond. Gathering cases from nine countries and cities across sub-Saharan Africa, and from a range of sectors, this volume goes beyond the usual focus on household ‘coping strategies’ and individual agency, addressing the growing number of collective organizations through which informal workers make themselves visible and articulate their demands and interests. The emerging picture is that of a highly diverse landscape of organized actors, providing grounds for tension but also opportunities for alliance. The collection examines attempts at organizing across the formal-informal work spheres, and explores the novel trend of transnational organizing by informal workers. Part of the ground-breaking Africa Now series, Africa’s Informal Workers is a timely exploration of deep, ongoing economic, political and social transformations.

Author : P. Thandika Mkandawire,Charles Chukwuma Soludo
Publisher : IDRC
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2014-05-14
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781552502044

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Our Continent, Our Future by P. Thandika Mkandawire,Charles Chukwuma Soludo Pdf

Our Continent, Our Future presents the emerging African perspective on this complex issue. The authors use as background their own extensive experience and a collection of 30 individual studies, 25 of which were from African economists, to summarize this African perspective and articulate a path for the future. They underscore the need to be sensitive to each country's unique history and current condition. They argue for a broader policy agenda and for a much more active role for the state within what is largely a market economy. Finally, they stress that Africa must, and can, compete in an increasingly globalized world and, perhaps most importantly, that Africans must assume the leading role in defining the continent's development agenda.

Author : Kate Grantham,Gillian Dowie,Arjan de Haan
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 211 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2021-03-04
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781000340341

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Women's Economic Empowerment by Kate Grantham,Gillian Dowie,Arjan de Haan Pdf

This book investigates the barriers to women’s economic empowerment in the Global South. Drawing on evidence from a wide range of countries, the book outlines important lessons and practical solutions for promoting gender equality. Despite global progress in closing gender gaps in education and health, women’s economic empowerment has lagged behind, with little evidence that economic growth promotes gender equality. International Development Research Centre’s (IDRC) Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) programme was set up to provide policy lessons, insights, and concrete solutions that could lead to advances in gender equality, particularly on the role of institutions and macroeconomic growth, barriers to labour market access for women, and the impact of women’s care responsibilities. This book showcases rigorous and multi-disciplinary research emerging from this ground-breaking programme, covering topics such as the school-to-work transition, child marriage, unpaid domestic work and childcare, labour market segregation, and the power of social and cultural norms that prevent women from fully participating in better paid sectors of the economy. With a range of rich case studies from Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Uganda, this book is perfect for students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working on women’s economic empowerment and gender equality in the Global South.

Author : Lisa Åkesson,Maria Eriksson Baaz
Publisher : Zed Books Ltd.
Page : 174 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2015-07-15
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781783602360

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Africa's Return Migrants by Lisa Åkesson,Maria Eriksson Baaz Pdf

Many African migrants residing abroad nurture a hope to one day return, at least temporarily, to their home country. In the wake of economic crises in the developed world, alongside rapid economic growth in parts of Africa, the impetus to ‘return’ is likely to increase. Such returnees are often portrayed as agents of development, bringing with them capital, knowledge and skills as well as connections and experience gained abroad. Yet, the reality is altogether more complex. In this much-needed volume, based on extensive original fieldwork, the authors reveal that there is all too often a gaping divide between abstract policy assumptions and migrants’ actual practices. In contrast to the prevailing optimism of policies on migration and development, Africa’s Return Migrants demonstrates that the capital obtained abroad is not always advantageous and that it can even hamper successful entrepreneurship and other forms of economic, political and social engagement.

Author : Professor Garth Myers
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 389 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2011-04-14
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781780321332

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African Cities by Professor Garth Myers Pdf

In this groundbreaking book, Garth Myers uses African urban concepts and experiences to speak back to theoretical and practical concerns. He argues for a re-visioning - a seeing again, and a revising - of how cities in Africa are discussed and written about in both urban studies and African studies. Cities in Africa are still either ignored - banished to a different, other, lesser category of not-quite cities - or held up as examples of all that can go wrong with urbanism in much of the mainstream and even critical urban literature. Myers instead encourages African studies and urban studies scholars across the world to engage with the vibrancy and complexity of African cities with fresh eyes. Touching on a diverse range of cities across Africa - from Zanzibar to Nairobi, Cape Town to Mogadishu, Kinshasa to Dakar - the book uses the author's own research and a close reading of works by other scholars, writers and artists to help illuminate what is happening in and across the region's cities.

Author : Martha Chen,Françoise Carré
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 323 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2020-07-14
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780429575389

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The Informal Economy Revisited by Martha Chen,Françoise Carré Pdf

This landmark volume brings together leading scholars in the field to investigate recent conceptual shifts, research findings and policy debates on the informal economy as well as future challenges and directions for research and policy. Well over half of the global workforce and the vast majority of the workforce in developing countries work in the informal economy, and in countries around the world new forms of informal employment are emerging. Yet the informal workforce is not well understood, remains undervalued and is widely stigmatised. Contributors to the volume bridge a range of disciplinary perspectives including anthropology, development economics, law, political science, social policy, sociology, statistics, urban planning and design. The Informal Economy Revisited also focuses on specific groups of informal workers, including home-based workers, street vendors and waste pickers, to provide a grounded insight into disciplinary debates. Ultimately, the book calls for a paradigm shift in how the informal economy is perceived to reflect the realities of informal work in the Global South, as well as the informal practices of the state and capital, not just labour. The Informal Economy Revisited is the culmination of 20 years of pioneering work by WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing), a global network of researchers, development practitioners and organisations of informal workers in 90 countries. Researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and advocates will all find this book an invaluable guide to the significance and complexities of the informal economy, and its role in today’s globalised economy. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429200724, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

Author : Kate Meagher
Publisher : African Books Collective
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9789780813734

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Identity Economics by Kate Meagher Pdf

This title traces the rise of two dynamic informal enterprise clusters in Nigeria and explores their slide into trajectories of Pentecostalism, poverty and violent vigilantism.

Author : Laura A. German,Alain Karsenty,Anne-Marie Tiani
Publisher : Earthscan
Page : 445 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2009-12
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9781849774512

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Governing Africa's Forests in a Globalized World by Laura A. German,Alain Karsenty,Anne-Marie Tiani Pdf

Many countries around the world are engaged in decentralization processes, and most African countries face serious problems with forest governance, from benefits sharing to illegality and sustainable forest management. This book summarizes experiences to date on the extent and nature of decentralization and its outcomes, most of which suggest an underperformance of governance reforms, and explores the viability of different governance instruments in the context of weak governance and expanding commercial pressures over forests. Findings are grouped into two thematic areas: decentralization, livelihoods and sustainable forest management; and international trade, finance and forest sector governance reforms. The authors examine diverse forces shaping the forest sector, including the theory and practice of decentralization, usurpation of authority, corruption and illegality, inequitable patterns of benefits capture and expansion of international trade in timber and carbon credits, and discuss related outcomes on livelihoods, forest condition and equity. The book builds on earlier volumes exploring different dimensions of decentralization and perspectives from other world regions, and distills dimensions of forest governance that are both unique to Africa and representative of broader global patterns. Authors ground their analysis in relevant theory while attempting to distill implications of their findings for policy and practice.

Author : International Development Research Centre (Canada)
Publisher : IDRC
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Electronic books
ISBN : 9780889368828

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For Hunger-proof Cities by International Development Research Centre (Canada) Pdf

For Hunger Proof Cities: Sustainable urban food systems

Author : International Labour Organisation
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 170 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 1985
Category : Africa
ISBN : STANFORD:36105039907337

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Informal Sector in Africa by International Labour Organisation Pdf

Author : Guillermo Perry
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 270 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780821370933

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Informality by Guillermo Perry Pdf

Analyzes informality in Latin America, exploring root causes and reasons for and implications of its growth. This book uses two distinct but complementary lenses. It concludes that reducing informality levels and overcoming the "culture of informality" will require actions to increase aggregate productivity in the economy.

Author : George Martine
Publisher : Earthscan
Page : 401 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2012-05-23
Category : Architecture
ISBN : 9781849773157

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The New Global Frontier by George Martine Pdf

The worlds developing countries will be experiencing massive increases in their urban populations over the 21st century. If managed intelligently and humanely, this growth can pave the way to sustainable development; otherwise, it will favour higher levels of poverty and environmental stress. The outcome depends on decisions being made now.The principal theme that runs through this volume is the need to transform urbanization into a positive force for development. Part I of this book reviews the demography of the urban transition, stressing the importance of benefi cial rural-urban connections and challenging commonly held misconceptions. Part II asks how urban housing, land and service provision can be improved in the face of rapid urban expansion, drawing lessons from experiences around the world. Part III analyses the challenges and opportunities that urbanization presents for improving living environments and reducing pressures on local and global ecosystems. These social and environmental challenges must be met in the context of fast-changing demographic circumstances; Part IV explores the range of opportunities that these transformations represent. These challenges and opportunities vary greatly across Africa, Asia and Latin America, as detailed in Part V.Published with IIED and UNFPA

Author : Karen Tranberg Hansen,Mariken Vaa
Publisher : Nordic Africa Institute
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9171065180

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Reconsidering Informality by Karen Tranberg Hansen,Mariken Vaa Pdf

This book brings together two bodies of research on urban Africa that have tended to be separate, studies of urban land use and housing and studies of work and livelihoods. Africa's future will be increasingly urban, and the inherited legal, institutional and financial arrangements for managing urban development are inadequate. Access to employment, shelter and services is precarious for most urban residents. The result is the phenomenal growth of the informal city. Extra-legal housing and unregistered economic activities proliferate and basic urban services are increasingly provided informally. Recent decades of neo-liberal political and economic reforms have increased social inequality across urban space. After an introductory chapter by the editors, the contributions are grouped into the following sections: - LOCALITY, PLACE, AND SPACE - ECONOMY, WORK, AND LIVELIHOODS - LAND, HOUSING, AND PLANNING The case studies are drawn from a diverse set of cities on the African continent. A central theme is how practices that from an official standpoint are illegal or extra-legal do not only work but are considered legitimate by the actors concerned. Another is how the informal city is not exclusively the domain of the poor, but also provides shelter and livelihoods for better-off segments of the urban population.